Who is Raphael Garza? Pt. 05

Towing over two hundred pounds on an inner tube behind a kayak is not easy. By the time I reached what I thought was the middle of Grover's Mill Pond, I was exhausted and just hoping that I was in deep enough water to dump the body. I took the sledgehammer head and lowered it into the water, spooling out the paracord as it sunk to the bottom. I estimated the length of the cord that I spooled out at about nine or ten feet. I pulled the sledgehammer back up and pulled the inner tube up next to the kayak. I cut off three feet of the paracord tied to the sledge and then tied that around Garza's neck. I tried to tip the tube over and dump Garza off, but it was too heavy and I was afraid that I might roll the kayak over, instead. I had to go with plan B. I stuck a match stick that I brought along for the purpose into the valve stem and started letting the air out of the inner tube. It took a while, but I finally let out enough air that the inner tube could no longer support the weight, and my nightmare rolled silently off the inner tube and disappeared into the dark water.

Even though I was sure Garza would not float back up to the surface, I sat staring at the water to make sure. After waiting for about five minutes, I signaled Kathy and started back to shore.

Filling in the Gaps for Kathy

On the way home, I stopped behind a grocery store and dropped Garza's clothes in the dumpster along with his wig and the fake facial hair. We got back to the house around 2:30 AM. Kathy and I showered together, not in preparation for sex but to get warm after spending almost an hour and a half in the cold rain on Grover's Mill Pond.

After our shower, Kathy asked, "What duffle bag was Raphael talking about?"

"I guess it is time," I said. "Why don't you go fix us a drink and meet me in the office? I have to get something in the attic."

Kathy was sitting at the desk with two glasses and a bottle of Jim Beam when I came downstairs with the duffel bag and my copy of the DVD I made of the money exchange.

I explained to Kathy how I had discovered that Monty and Farrell and the First Bank of Brodricksburg were the sources of our problems. "On Independence Day, I followed Monty and Farrell to the Brodricksburg Athletic Park, and I managed to record what I saw there."

I put the DVD into the computer and played the video. "At the time, I didn't realize what I was watching because the only thing on my mind was my intention to kill Monty and Farrell."

Kathy gasped, "You were going to kill them? But you didn't."

"No, I didn't. Later that night, I went to Monty's house with my shotgun and broke into the garage but lost my nerve. I realized that I couldn't kill them in cold blood. Before I left, I remembered seeing them put a duffle bag in Monty's car. So I opened the trunk and took the duffle bag and left. Garza was right about how I got to Monty's house on the river. That's how I injured my shoulder. I fell when I was going back down the river bank with the duffle bag."

"What's in the bag?"

I picked the bag up and placed it on the desk. When I opened the bag, three bundles of hundred dollar bills fell out. Kathy stared at the money, then reached into the bag and pulled out several more bundles of bills. "How much is there?" Kathy asked.

"$750,000."

"Oh, my God."

I told Kathy about burning copies of the video on DVDs and how I hid my identity when I sent them to the FBI, DEA, and the Pennsylvania State Police.

"After I left Monty's house with the money, Garza showed up to take the money, and he killed Monty and Farrell and dumped their bodies in the river."

"He killed them because you took the money?" Kathy said.

"He was going to kill them anyway. He was going to take the money and disappear. That's why he faked his death the day before by killing his agent and the gay prostitute he mentioned. He also is wanted for killing two men in Phoenix, Arizona, nine years ago. That's why I had to kill him when I got the chance. As long as he was alive, we were in danger."

Kathy and I talked until almost four o'clock in the morning. Mostly Kathy was asking questions and me explaining, step by step, how I got from finding Garza at the Broad Street Theater to sending the videos to the authorities. When we finally got to bed, I didn't sleep well, and I am sure that Kathy didn't either.

*

Part 6 has been submitted and should be available soon.